DOST: LGUs, schools should provide information on earthquake-resilient housing designs

Local government units should provide residents with information on designing earthquake-resilient houses while schools may promote awareness among students, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Renato Solidum said Tuesday.

Solidum made the suggestion following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck offshore Maasim, Sarangani on June 8.

"So my suggestion is, sa High School pa lang, ituro na sa mga estudyante ano dapat ang matibay na bahay na dapat ginagawa nila," Solidum told reporters at the sidelines of its parnership meeting with the Japan International Cooperation Agency at Taguig City.

(My suggestion is that high school students should be taught the features of a strong house that should be built.)

He added that this is to help the public to validate the structural design of infrastructures being presented to them.

"If people don't know how to assess the house that (they) have been constructing, madali talaga silang maloko (they can be easily deceived)," Solidum said.

The reported death toll from the Mindanao earthquake has climbed to 68 people, while 1,339 were injured and 33 are still missing, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Tuesday.

In Situational Report No. 8, NDRRMC said 337,541 families or 1,382,294 persons were affected. Of the number, 4,449 families or 18,504 persons were served inside 45 evacuation centers.

Meanwhile, 67,990 damaged houses were reported in Region 9, Region 11, Region 12, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Of the number, 12,387 houses were totally destroyed while 55,603 were partially damaged.

More than safety protocols

Solidum said safety protocols, such as "duck, cover, and hold" and disaster risk reduction drills, can only do so much and would be ineffective if the structure itself has a weak foundation.

"Ang suggestion ko sa local government, mag-design na lang yun ang mga bahay complete with the bill of materials, complete with the right design of resistant to earthquake. Bigay mo na lang yan sa mga tao," Solidum said.

(My suggestion to the local goverment units is to provide a house design to the public that is compleye with the bill of materials, the right earthquake-resistant design.)

"Rather than wala silang pera, wala silang engineer, edi ang gagawin nilang bahay, mahina," he added.

(Rather than the public having no money and engineer, then the design houses are going to be weak.)

Solidum further said there should a regular inspection of infrastructures to ensure the safety of the public.

Safe house app

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has developed the "How Safe is My House" app, which can be use to evaluate the earthquake vulnerability of a one to two storey concerete hollo block residential building.

Users can answer a 12-question survey covering the age of their home, amterial used, wall thickness, past damage, and sturctural shapes. — BAP, GMA News